Chapter 61 Part 2

And this time, he saw what he’d been hoping for—

Shen Yuze sat by the window, head turned toward the branches outside. He toyed with a pen in his hand, spinning it nimbly between his fingers. Autumn breeze slipped through the window cracks, making the light gauze curtain dance and tentatively brush the boy’s shoulder.

Thanks to the little mirror’s reflection, Lu Ping could finally spy on Shen Yuze openly.

He fixed the mirror in place so a quick glance down would show him the figure within. Of course, he didn’t stare constantly—he spent most of his time listening and taking notes, only occasionally (he swore it was just occasionally) dipping his head to gaze at that distant-yet-close silhouette by the window.

Last night’s dream left Lu Ping panicked, tense, and mortified. He’d had health class; he knew wet dreams were normal for boys his age. But this was the first time another person had appeared in one of his dreams. He told himself it was all because of Shen Yuze’s jealous joke—blame Shen Yuze for his loose talk. Yet a voice in his heart whispered: Was it really just a joke?

Lu Ping was deeply conflicted. He wanted to see Shen Yuze but was afraid to; wanted to ask him but dared not.

This palm-sized mirror concealed the unspoken turmoil of Lu Ping’s adolescent heart.

…

With the mirror’s company, the next few days passed peacefully for Lu Ping.

But he’d gone a full week without speaking to Shen Yuze. And that guy had the patience of a saint—he hadn’t sought Lu Ping out once.

Amid his disappointment, Lu Ping felt an inexplicable anger bubbling up.

That Friday afternoon, as Lu Ping peeked at Shen Yuze through the mirror again, their eyes suddenly met in the reflection!

Lu Ping jolted in fright, yanking the mirror toward himself and pretending to fix his uniform, stiffly adjusting his collar.

He thought he’d been caught red-handed and spent the rest of class in dread, bracing for a post-bell confrontation. Sure enough, when the bell rang, Shen Yuze stood from his seat and headed straight for him.

Lu Ping sat frozen in his chair, wanting to bolt but too scared to move. His back went rigid, ears perked high, heart pounding: How should he start? Cool and distant, or warm? If asked why he’d been avoiding him, what to say? And the mirror—how to explain that?

These questions twisted and tumbled in Lu Ping’s mind until Shen Yuze reached his side, and still, he had no answers.

He kept his head down, waiting for Shen Yuze’s questioning.

However—Shen Yuze didn’t stop. He walked right past Lu Ping.

He didn’t even pause for a second.

“…” Lu Ping blinked in confusion: Shen Yuze just left?? Just like that??? Hadn’t he come over to talk to him? And he just walked away??

Until Shen Yuze’s figure disappeared from the classroom door, the boy remained petrified, sitting there in a daze in his seat like a statue.

Chen Miaomiao nudged him. “Lu Ping, what are you spacing out for? Next period is PE!”

“Oh… right, right.” Only then did Lu Ping remember that every Friday, the second-to-last period was PE, followed by self-study. So when Shen Yuze had gotten up and passed by him earlier, it really wasn’t to talk to him—he was just heading to PE.

Realizing this, Lu Ping felt ashamed of his earlier overthinking. He hurriedly packed up his desk, tied his shoelaces tight, and went downstairs with Chen Miaomiao.

On the way to the sports field, Chen Miaomiao asked him, “Lu Ping, did you have a fight with Shen Yuze?”

Lu Ping denied it three times in a row: “No, we didn’t. Don’t talk nonsense.”

Chen Miaomiao: “But you two were so close before switching seats. You even ate lunch together. This whole week, though, you’ve both been doing your own thing. It’s so weird.”

Lu Ping: “Back then, we were desk mates, so we ate together because we were close. Now you’re my desk mate, so of course I eat with you.”

Chen Miaomiao: “Oh~~~”

That “oh” was drawn out, full of twists and turns, paired with Chen Miaomiao’s sly smile. Lu Ping immediately bristled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Shen Yuze and I aren’t conjoined twins. He has his own stuff, I have mine. Is that not allowed?”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t.” Chen Miaomiao blinked innocently. “I only said one word, and you rattled off all that. Who’s the guilty one here? I’m not saying.”

“………………”

Lu Ping couldn’t argue with the class’s gossip queen, so he clamped his mouth shut, quickened his pace, and bolted away.

PE class was always held together for the three liberal arts classes.

The sports teacher’s whistle blew, and everyone dragged their feet to gather, lining up by height.

The liberal arts classes had few boys—twenty of them made exactly two rows. Lu Ping stood in the middle of the second row, while Shen Yuze was first in the first row.

At the sports teacher’s command, everyone turned right to face forward—except Shen Yuze, standing first in the front row, who kept his gaze straight ahead. All eyes converged on him, and Lu Ping’s gaze blended in like a drop of water into the sea, unnoticed.

“Face—forward!” The sports teacher blew the whistle again and announced the plan. “First, run laps around the field to warm up. Boys, five laps; girls, three. Once you’re warmed up, come back here. Today we’re doing sit-up training.”

“Teacher, five laps is too many!”

“Sit-ups? I can’t even remember the last time I did those. Was it the high school entrance exam?”

“I’ve gained so much weight. I don’t know if I can even sit up anymore.”

“Can we just lie down today and sit up tomorrow?”

“Is this a test? What’s the passing score?”

The sports teacher ignored the students’ complaints, blew the whistle, and herded them into running.

Their school’s track was 400 meters per lap, so five laps for the boys meant 2,000 meters. Everyone sat around in class all day with little exercise, so even jogging, some fell behind in the latter half.

Lu Ping didn’t fall behind. He often helped his parents carry heavy loads at home, so his physique was decent. He hung in the middle of the pack.

He planned to just run steadily through the whole thing, but then some idiot came to provoke him.

As he ran, a few figures suddenly appeared in front of him—boys from Class 9 and Class 10 surrounded him, blocking his path!

At first, Lu Ping thought they’d just tired out and were dawdling on the track. He tried to speed up and pass them, but whether he went left or right, they blocked him.

Several times, Lu Ping nearly tripped over them!

He immediately realized they were doing it on purpose. “Why are you blocking me?”

“Who’s blocking you? The track’s so wide. We can run wherever we want.” The leader was Glasses Boy from Class 9. The guy hadn’t learned his lesson after getting slapped down by Shen Yuze twice—he was still hopping around like an idiot.

Lu Ping ignored him, maintaining his steady jog while warily watching his surroundings, waiting for a chance to break through.

“Lu Ping, I heard you were pretty cocky at Experimental Middle School last week,” Glasses Boy said. “You cursed out boys from other classes, calling them out one by one for bullying you… Heh, why are you so petty? We were just joking around, and you still hold grudges?”

Lu Ping jogged and replied, “Looks like you’re pretty petty too. Last week’s stuff, and you’re picking a fight this week? You even brought your pack of cronies, making sure the teacher knows Classes 9 and 10 are buddy-buddy, teaming up to bully people?”

Glasses Boy: “Don’t spout nonsense. How is this bullying? I’m just here to bond with you.”

“No need.” Lu Ping was no longer the soft dough they could knead back then. “What could I possibly bond with you over? Are you looking for mourners at your grave or something?”

Laughter erupted around them. The “little brothers” who’d come with Glasses Boy to back him up couldn’t hold it in.

Glasses Boy: “Lu Ping, I fu—”

“—Excuse me.”

Glasses Boy’s unfinished curse was cut off by a cold voice.

From behind the group emerged a familiar tall figure. While they’d slowed to a standoff, they’d fallen far behind the main pack—and now Shen Yuze, having lapped them, caught up from behind!

After running so long, Shen Yuze’s hair was soaked with sweat, his breathing heavy. His running form was textbook perfect, each stride measured. He appeared like a sharp sword piercing the gloom, his face frosty as he strode through the crowd without glancing sideways. He shouldered aside the blockers and tossed out, “The teacher’s watching you.”

Then he accelerated away.

While the others were stunned, Lu Ping darted through the group too. This time, he didn’t hold back, speeding up to shake off the brainless jerks.

Lu Ping trailed behind Shen Yuze, keeping a neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance.

He gazed at Shen Yuze’s sweat-soaked back and thought silently—had Shen Yuze just come specifically to help him out?